- The pandemic has not only weighed on the physical health of Americans, but their mental health too.
- And the US was already facing a mental health crisis, even before COVID-19 hit.
- Congress can help address the crisis and we can all work to improve the country's collective mental health.
- Patrick J. Kennedy is a former US Representative, author, and founder of the Kennedy Forum.
- Norm Gorin is vice president of MindWise Innovations.
- This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Never has there been a time in our history when people talked as openly about anxiety, depression, or feelings of hopelessness as they are during the pandemic. Crisis lines are no longer taking calls purely about the symptoms of COVID-19 or how to get tested, but instead are inundated with people asking for help to fight feelings of high anxiety and stress.
Business leaders know this is an unavoidable component to the immediate health of employees, with many now searching for ways to support the behavioral health of their workforce. Before the pandemic, depression alone was estimated to cost the American economy $210 billion annually, with 50% of that cost shouldered by employers. The World Economic Forum projected that mental health disorders will cost nations $16.3 trillion between 2011 and 2030, which represents a staggering loss in economic output.
Experts believe the pandemic is likely to produce a tsunami of behavioral health challenges and "deaths of despair" as tens of millions of Americans are added to the unemployment bench with many more expected to join their ranks. We know from experience with the construction industry, which tops the chart for suicide deaths, that economic insecurity is a leading factor in suicide deaths.
A systematic review of the research suggests the burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among persons exposed to human-made and natural disasters is substantial. Large-scale disasters are almost always accompanied by increases in depression, PTSD, substance use disorders, and other mental health conditions, as well as domestic violence, and child abuse.
Despite the grim statistics, there is a reason to be optimistic about the mental health of our country. With everyone so greatly impacted by this global pandemic, stigma seems to be a thing of the past. People are finally talking openly about their anxiety or depression. The question is no longer if you're struggling, but how badly you're struggling.
This unfortunate new normal could ultimately open doors for millions, increasing awareness and utilization of behavioral health resources and treatment options like never before. But we have much work to do as a nation to improve our infrastructure of care and eliminate the roadblocks that currently deter many with mental health and addiction challenges.
Given that the US was already in the midst of a behavioral health crisis long before the pandemic hit — with nearly 45,000 people dying by suicide each year and over 67,000 from drug overdoses — we need urgent action.
State and federal leaders must allocate adequate and sustained funding for mental health and addiction care. Half of the nation's counties have no behavioral health providers. Even where there are providers, far too many don't accept insurance due to low reimbursement rates. In fact, in the US, most psychiatrists practice out-of-network, which makes treatment expensive and out of reach for many. Nearly 60% of adults with a mental illness did not receive mental health services in the past year well before the pandemic altered our lives forever. This is unacceptable.
Three ways Congress can address the issue
Three initiatives are currently being considered by Congress – all are crucial.
The first, the bipartisan STANDUP Act of 2019, is designed to encourage states and tribes to implement and expand evidence-based suicide prevention training This would help ensure more states are making annual suicide training of students a priority and the law of the land, a recommendation of suicide experts for over a decade.
The second, the Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act would strengthen enforcement of existing behavioral health parity laws, which require insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance use disorders no more restrictively than treatment for illnesses of the body, such as diabetes or cancer.
The legislation would increase mandatory federal audits of health plans, require insurance companies to disclose how they make decisions on behavioral health care coverage, and establish a Consumer Parity Portal — a one-stop shop where consumers could learn about their rights and submit complaints about potentially illegal denials of coverage.
The third, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (Federal Parity Law) must be enforced along with corresponding state parity laws. These require insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance use disorders no more restrictively than treatment for illnesses of the body, such as diabetes and cancer. Now, more than ever, discriminatory insurance practices cannot be tolerated.
Our leaders can no longer wait to make these necessary changes. It's time to reset our approach to behavioral health care. We need to commit future rounds of funding to provide resources that prioritize suicide prevention and support the range of mental health challenges — including addiction — that have been unleashed by today's pandemic. It seems only prudent to prepare for the full spectrum of this storm's implications. Incremental progress isn't enough when thousands are dying daily, millions are out of work, and a tsunami of suicides and overdoses is at our doorstep.
And to those who say it's not the right time to wage this war, we argue that not addressing mental health and addiction now will only prolong the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately cost more lives. The most hard-fought battles in life are often the ones where we have the most to lose.
Patrick J. Kennedy is a former US Representative where he was the lead author of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Federal Parity Law). In 2013, he founded The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit that unites advocates, business leaders, and government agencies to advance evidence-based practices, policies, and programming in mental health and addiction.
Norm Gorin is Vice President of MindWise Innovations (Mindwise.org). Powered by Riverside Community Care, a non-profit leader in behavioral health and human services, MindWise offers a comprehensive approach to mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention.
